I bought this car as my first major step up from the bangers that I used to drive. My last car was a Daihatsu Sportrak, a brilliant little petrol 4x4, built like a tank, especially good in summer with the removable hard tops although not really suited to long motorway driving. It was this car that prompted me to look for another 4x4 when it finally died.

I was looking for a similar sized 4x4 that was more comfortable on long journeys, it had to be diesel to improve on fuel costs compared to my previous car. 

After much searching, and looking at various different models such as the Suzuki Grand Vitara, Honda HRV, Honda CRV, Landrover Freelander, and Daihatsu Terios, I came across the short wheel base (SWB) version of the Toyota Rav4 (there has since been a new model in which the short wheelbase version is no longer being made and the range has been given an all round facelift). The first thing that stood out is that it looks a lot more stylish than the other 4x4's in the same class, especially the diesel engined version, which I opted for, with the bonnet scoop for the turbo intercooler. 

It turns out that the diesel engine that comes in this model (2.0 D-4D) is really quite efficient, I'm currently returning 41.7 mpg on average which is  mostly town driving. Another good point about this engine is it's low CO2 output (190g/km) which is 1 in the eye for all those 4x4 haters out there as it has lower emmissions than most cars, be aware though that the increasing vehicle excise duty rates means taxing the vehicle can be quite expensive but you will reclaim this money with the savings on fuel.

The model I purchased was the 2 door NRG which came with the optional leather seats and 6 disc changer which is located under the passenger seat. The leather seats are extremely comfortable on long journeys, the ride feels sturdy yet does not break your back when encountering pot holes.

For a 4x4 the RAV corners exceptionally well with little or no roll. The RAV was rumoured to be the '4x4 GTi' and I can confirm those rumours, it pulls very strongly through each gear and will easily top 100mph. The RAV comes as a full time 4 wheel drive apart form the NV model which is 2 wheel drive. Personally I think this model is pointless, who in their right mind is going to buy a 2 wheel drive 4x4?

The RAV is billed as a softroader which means it has car like driving characteristics but has the ability to cope with the occasional off roading should you need it. The idea of softroaders came about because car companies realised that people buy big 4x4s because they think they are safer, they also realised that very few of those people actually used their 4x4s off road, so softroaders retained the high driving position and size of 'proper' 4x4s while simplifying the 4x4 running gear and softening the suspension to make them more suited to driving on the road. While it does not come with the low transfer box which comes with the larger 4x4's, it will handle most of the off road scenarios that you're likely to come across. The 4x4 factor really comes into it's own under extreme weather conditions, meaning it will handle better and therefore be safer, that coupled with electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD) means that you feel more confident driving this car in bad weather than any standard 2 wheel drive car.